Van Hollen Says Suspension of Special Visas Left Afghan U.S. Allies Vulnerable
Democratic Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen has accused the Donald Trump administration of endangering thousands of Afghan interpreters, guards and local staff by suspending the Special Immigrant Visa program, saying it has put them at risk of reprisal from the Taliban authorities and violated Washington’s formal promise to its allies.
In a post on the social media platform X on Wednesday, he said civilians in Afghanistan had risked their lives for more than 20 years to help the United States, and that the bipartisan special visa program was a commitment to protect and honour their service. According to him, dismantling the program amounts to breaking a formal promise.
Van Hollen also pointed to a report released on October 2 with several other senators confirming the suspension of special visa issuance for Afghan partners of the U.S. military. The report said the visa process had effectively stopped, the State Department’s Office of Afghan Allies Coordination had been dissolved, and more than 155,000 applicants and their family members were left in limbo.
According to U.S. State Department data, with the implementation of a presidential order from January 1, 2026, visa issuance for Afghans — including Special Immigrant Visa holders — has been suspended and the previous exemption for this group has been revoked. The State Department said by May that not a single special visa had been issued for Afghans this year, and advocacy groups for the program, including Afghan Evac, as well as a Democratic Senate minority report, say only three special visas were issued throughout 2026, a figure they say effectively means the program has been halted.
At the same time, the report says the legal deadline for new applications for a “Chief of Mission endorsement” expired on December 31, 2025, and the U.S. Congress did not raise the visa cap in 2025.
The Afghan special immigrant visa program was created during the war years to provide a legal pathway for interpreters, guards and other civilians who worked alongside U.S. military and diplomatic personnel and were at risk of Taliban reprisal. According to the report, more than 160,000 people have entered the United States through this route since the program began.
The Trump administration has described the suspension as part of broader security restrictions. Meanwhile, some Republican senators withdrew their previous support for expanding the program after a shooting involving a National Guard member in late 2025, citing concerns about the thoroughness of vetting.
Advocates for relocating Afghan partners say Special Immigrant Visa cases undergo multiple layers of strict review, and that the suspension has left even those previously approved in Afghanistan or third countries — including a U.S. base in Qatar — in uncertainty. The report says the U.S. government has also ended temporary protected status for Afghans living in the country and halted resettlement assistance, a move activists say is placing additional pressure on the vulnerable Afghan community in the United States.
